LOGINViolet I looked at my professor, not knowing how to answer. My paper had been the last thing on my mind lately. Between the videos, my ruined room, Colin, and this strange arrangement with Axel, I had almost forgotten that she had asked me about publishing it.Most of the students had already left the classroom. I gathered my notebook and walked toward her desk, my cheeks heating with embarrassment. I was a good student. I had always taken my assignments seriously, and being offered the chance to publish my work should have been one of the best things to happen to me. Instead, I had ignored her request.“I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier,” I said. “Things have been a little complicated.”“That’s all right.” She gave me a patient smile. “Have you made a decision?”Anxiety tightened my stomach. “Is it possible to publish my paper under a different name?”A frown appeared between her eyebrows. “A different name?”There was a silent question in her eyes. Why would a student want
VioletColin came after me. “Violet, wait.”I quickened my pace, but he caught up and stepped directly in front of me, blocking my path. He looked exhausted and apologetic, but the sight of him only brought back memories of the locked bedroom, and disgust crept beneath my skin. “We have to talk,” he said.I shook my head. “I have a class, and I’m already late.”I tried to move around him, but he stepped sideways with me. Students passing through the corridor began slowing down. Several stopped near the classroom doors, pretending to check their phones while watching us. A few people recognized us from the videos. They whispered to one another, and someone behind me snickered.My face heated.“Please,” Colin said. “Give me five minutes.”“There’s nothing to discuss.”He moved closer and lowered his voice. “I’m sorry about last night. I was desperate to have you. I wanted you to be mine so badly that I made a mistake.”A mistake? He had drugged me, locked me inside his bedroom, and thr
VioletI stared at Axel as I pushed myself up from his chest. How had I ended up lying over him? My cheeks heated.His arms were wrapped tightly around my waist, and one of my legs was trapped between his. His dark hair was messy, but he looked far too amused by my confusion.A slow smirk appeared on his face. “Good morning, fake girlfriend.”I gaped at him. Memories of the previous night rushed back in broken pieces. Colin had given me a drink. The room had started spinning, and he had taken me upstairs. I remembered him locking his bedroom door, pressing me against it, and trying to rape me.Disgust twisted my stomach.I remembered hitting him and running through the party. I had stumbled outside and fallen into Axel’s arms.Everything after that was covered by a thick haze. Had I agreed to become Axel’s fake girlfriend?Oh God. No. No. No.I quickly scrambled off his chest, but my thigh brushed against the very hard erection beneath his sweatpants. Heat rushed into my belly. I almo
Axel It was Ashely. Her angry voice carried all the way upstairs. “I said I want to see Axel!”Violet shifted slightly against my chest, and my arms tightened around her before she could wake. She needed rest, and someone to watch her breathing until morning. I had no intention of leaving her alone.Downstairs, Tyler responded calmly. “Axel doesn’t want to see anyone.”“I’m not anyone,” Ashley snapped. “Get out of my way.”“You’re not going upstairs,” Mason almost growled. Ashley shouted, “Do you have any idea who you’re speaking to? I’ll report both of you to Axel’s stepmother.”A growl built inside my chest. Ashley had no right to storm into my house and disturb my mate. And how dare she threaten me involving my stepmother’s? I was about to get up when Mason’s reply stopped me.“Go complain to whoever you want,” he said. “You aren’t the Luna of the North Ridge pack, and I don’t take orders from you. Axel said no visitors.”Ashley gasped. I could imagine her eyes widening. She was
AxelThe moment Violet’s lips touched mine, the mate bond inside me snapped with dangerous ferocity into place. The world disappeared. My every instinct, every thought, suddenly moved behind her. Violet became the center of everything. Protecting her wasn’t a choice anymore. It was as necessary as breathing. An invisible anchor wrapped around my heart, sank its claws in it and pulled me toward her with terrifying force. Blaze surged forward with such power that my eyes flashed gold. He threw back his head inside me and howled with joy and victory.‘MINE.’‘MATE.’There was no doubt left that Violet was my mate. The realization was as horrifying as it was earth shattering. I wrapped both arms around her in a vise-like grip, pulling her completely against me. Protective instinct tore through my body, stronger than gravity. Of all the rules I had given her, I had made one perfectly clear. She wasn’t supposed to kiss me. And that’s what she did. She fucking kissed me. We weren’t even
VioletColin called me three times after the game. He was having another party at his house to celebrate the team’s victory, and he insisted that I come. I refused, but he kept pushing.“You were there when I scored my first goal,” he said. “You’re part of the reason we won.”I laughed, “Colin, that doesn’t make sense.”He said with a chuckle, “It makes sense to me. Please come, Violet. Just for an hour.”I sighed as he disconnected the call. Lena wanted to attend too. “I’ve never seen Colin so excited,” she said while searching through her closet. “He played like he was trying to impress you. Maybe that’s why he scored.”Her words made me uncomfortable. Colin and I barely knew each other, yet he was acting as if we shared something serious. Why was he pushing me so much? Finally, I decided to attend for one reason. I would speak to Colin privately and make my boundaries clear. I didn’t want to date him, and he had to accept that.When Lena and I reached the party, the house was alr







